LOCAL NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Parents should monitor schools

Dr Lekh Nath Belbase is a prominent educationist who, for the last three decades, has been associated in giving the innovative and critical inputs especially for shaping the country’s education policy. A scholar who did his Ph.D. in vocational education decades back Dr Belbase has been a keen and active participant in development debates and blames faulty policies and their frail implementation for the sorry state of development in the country. Deeply involved in civil society movement for good governance and protection of public interest for last few years Dr Belbase served as a member of national Planning Commission in the past and took important assignments as advisor and consultants on behalf of the UN agencies and other organizations. Mr. Mukti Rijal talked the other day with Dr Belbase to get his views on the education sector that has received wider discussion and policy attention these days also due to the fact that the Parliament has passed the Seventh amendment Bill to the Education Act 2028 B.S recently. Excerpts of his views:

How you evaluate the pace of development in the country?

Candidly speaking, we have no long-term perspectives of development. It is characterized by ad hocism. We lack seriousness and objective thinking for development. Our development activities are a kind of doing patch works. I tend to compare our development activities with tarmac patches done on the arterial roads in the heart of the capital city. These patch works last for few months, not years.

As you have followed and often participated in the debates to reform education system in the country what reasons you think are responsible for leading the education sector to the messy state of affairs?

There are several reasons but the one I see critical is the prevailing system of examination. Unless there is reform in the examination system improvement in education is hard to achieve. Evaluation is also the part of teaching learning process. It should be an ongoing process. Evaluation should not be separated from the whole process. We trust teachers for educating our children but surprisingly fail to trust them to evaluate learning outcomes.

Moreover, I see serious flaw in the way we design policy, administer and implement. Curriculum designing, textbook production and conducting examination should form part of an integral process and need to be done under an umbrella organisation. Today there is no proper coordination among the units doing these crucial activities.

I would like to know your views about the falling quality of school education in the country. What problems you see in it?

I am against the full state control of education, I did air my views on it in the past, and I hold steadfast to it. Though the state has primary function to improve access to education from social justice point of view, it can not cater to the needs alone. Private sector has to come in. Moreover, state cannot manage the schools. Community initiatives and resources have to be harnessed and utilized for it. No school management body should be imposed by the District education office. Ultimately schools should be managed and monitored by parents whose children attend the schools. They have stakes and concerns to see how schools operate and educate children. Parents should be the constituents for the formation of school management body. Schools should be supervised and monitored by parents themselves.

There are accusations that the private schools are profit mongers and exploit parents. Even they were forced to close in some districts. What you think about how the private schools should be regulated?

I donot see any fault of the private school operators. They are delivering to the needs of the people. State has been able to generate demands but not able to cater to the needs. More than thirty percent of students study in private schools. There exists no proper and sound policy to regulate private schools Private sector participation is an imperative for quality education. It should not be restricted but better regulated. The School administration and supervision system is very weak. The District Education office has a nominal presence and it is not working to facilitate, enhance and regulate the schools.

Our education is more biased to the liberal arts and humanities. No employable skills are imparted to learners. What should be our approach to vocationalise the education?

I agree with you that the education should be useful and impart livelihood supporting skills and capacity to learners. However, vocationalising education at the school level that was tried out in the past was flawed. It is neither feasible nor productive. At the school level students should be orientated and imbued with basic learning needs and minimum social skills. Some ideas and notions of vocational education can be imparted at the school level only. They can be prepared for vocational education.

Several commissions have been formed to recommend changes and improvements in education. To what extent the reports have been used as inputs in policy designing and implementation?

Of the several task forces, I was fully involved in the commission that submitted its report in 2047B.S. If you go through the report you find several innovative recommendations provided in that report. The report emphasised on the community ownership of schools. It is very important.

One of the problems in education is said to be politicisation and teachers are used as political pawns. How can this be remedied?

Frankly speaking, teachers have been reduced to paid workers and public exchequer is bearing the load. Politics and education should be completely severed and political parties should commit that no teachers are recruited in their ranks. In the private schools, politics is avoided. That is the reason why quality is better maintained in private institutions. Public schools should learn from private entities in managing and administering the schools.

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